Benjamin Logan AP government students file report on local candidates

10/29/2013 9:15:32 PM

The Benjamin Logan AP government class recently did a project on several contested November election races and filed the following report:

Did you know that local election turnout rates are only 11 percent? We are students that go to Benjamin Logan High School that did a project on the trustee races of Perry, Jefferson, Richland, Harrison, and Belle Center Village Council races. We have interviewed the following candidates to find their opinions, ideologies, and plans for the future of their communities. We want to encourage voting and local community participation. Voting is one of the ways that each of us can put a huge impact on our community. This year, the election is held on November 5 and polls will be open from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm. Voters need to remember to bring a proper form of their ID to the polling stations. Be sure to come and support your local community.

Perry Township - Jenna Hardin

The Perry Township polls are at the Perry Fire Department on the 5th of November. Please be there and support Perry Township. I have interviewed the following candidates for the Perry Township Trustee position over the phone and Mr. Cook in person to make the community more educated on who they will vote for.

Mr. Brown hopes to use his skill set of managing companies gained by his 3D graphics and sales rep to make intelligent decisions and "streamline the operation to prevent waste" if he is voted Township Trustee. His 20 years in Perry Township has made him realize it was time to give back to the community and use his expertise in any way he can. He thinks that the biggest problem facing our community is the lack of technology based decisions and hopes to replace the ambulance. Having gone to Ben Logan High School and taken numerous college courses, he has been trained to save money and he believes has the time because he is self-employed. When asked about why he is the best candidate he replied that he has “Honesty, integrity, and extreme business knowledge.”

Terry Cook

Terry Cook has been a part of Perry Township for 50 years, pretty much all of his life. After 31 years of serving as a HONDA production associate, he wants to give his new found time to give back to the community. He likes the fire department‘s new truck, but thought the fire dept. was over spending in general. He believes the biggest problem in the township is keeping the budget balanced and is looking forward to learning more.

Merle Ackley

With the experience of 20 years of being a township trustee, Merle Ackley wants to keep up the good work. “We came a long way with it,” he says. He’s proud of his work to help fix the roads up, getting new trees, new shelter houses at the park, the new fire truck, and the two new community rooms. He believes the township is in pretty good shape financially and he wants to make the township better for the people and do anything he can for them to help.

Joshua LeVan

Mr. LeVan is somewhat new to the community, living almost a year here now. He believes his experience sets him apart from the rest of the candidates. Although he has no degree, he is skilled in being an electrician, holds a water and sewer license, is a volunteer firefighter, a state fire safety inspector, has worked around heavy equipment, and is good with motors and mechanics. Over the past eight years he has been a water sewer operator for the village of West Mansfield. When asked about what he hopes to do if he is elected he responded that he wanted to continue to make the community better, provide for the residents, and continue supporting the fire dept. When talking about the budget he said, “One thing, if we have budget cuts we need to look at making sure the money that we are using is going to be spent wisely. And two, we need to keep providing the community with what they expect, but doing it in a way [that] we need to work for the best price to do the same amount of work. “

Jeff Rosebrook

Mr. Jeff Rosebrook is another candidate that has already given a lot of service to the community. Mr. Rosebrook has lived in Perry Township for 40 years and has served as a trustee for 10 years. He originally ran to help the community out and in that time he is proud of his work of helping create the walking tracks and getting the new fire truck. In his next term, he hopes to continue to keep up the fire dept., keep up the roads and making sure they are asphalted with the plows working properly, make sure the ball park is running well, and other ways to keep the township working. “Things are going pretty good,” he said.

Jefferson Township - Todd Coleman

Elections for Jefferson Township will be held on November 5th, 2013. Elections will be held at the Zanesfield firehouse next to the baseball fields from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. I have interviewed the following candidates over the phone and by email.

Mr. Armentrout has been the Jefferson Township trustee for four years or one term. He looks to be reelected for his second term as township trustee because he “...loves the job, enjoys working with people, and enjoys solving township issues.” Mr. Armentrout has been a Jefferson Township resident almost all of his life and even graduated from Benjamin Logan High School. With a high school diploma Mr. Armentrout has worked at the East Liberty Honda plant for 25 years which allows him to spend 20+ hours a week dedicated to the trustee position. Some improvements Mr. Armentrout would like to make to the township are road repairs, installing a bathroom at the local baseball park, and to work with the sheriff's department on enforcing the speed limit.

Gary Lockwood - Challenger

Mr. Lockwood has been a resident of Jefferson Township for over 50 years and even graduated from Benjamin Logan. Mr. Lockwood wants to be a trustee because, “I’ve worked with the trustees on projects before and I really enjoy fixing problems.” Mr. Lockwood is a full time truck driver and says “I feel that I will be able to put in as many hours as needed...into the position.” He plans on improving roads, cemeteries, parks and says “I feel that the new well situation with the trout farms in Zanesfield is the biggest issue with the township right now,” and plans on dealing with is if he is elected.

Donald Rea King - Challenger

Mr. Donald King has lived here in Jefferson Township with his family for 6 years. Mr. King would like to be township trustee because “ I feel that being a Township Trustee and giving voice to those that live in our community is just one way that I can help give back. As a group of trustees, many decisions need made including: our roads, snow removal, keeping our cemeteries looking nice, and zoning laws.” Mr. King is currently a farmer and says “...my farm duties can be worked around my responsibilities as a Trustee.” As far as the future goes, Mr. King’s plans on looking and listening to the people to see what could be done to benefit the township.

Anthony Bernard

Unreachable Candidate

Richland Township - TJ Fink

The current position held for the Richland Township Trustee office is Mr. David Miracle. There are four candidates running for the sole position of being a township trustee. This man or woman would have to dedicate their time into helping improve their community, and the people around it. They will also be able to make your community a safer place to live.

The polling will be held at the American Legion Hall 615 N. Center St. Belle Center. Here are the candidates and their information:

Mr. David Miracle

Unreachable Incumbent

Mrs. Teresa Johnston

Teresa has lived in Richland Township for 52 years, and has already been involved in public service as being the mayor of Belle Center. She states qualified for township trustee as being, “self-taught in politics”. She also feels different compared to the other candidates by, “being able to interpret the law”. She is currently employed, but still is dedicated to handle any situation on any given day. Also, she feels she can be able to do road maintenance and drive any vehicle. Her opinion on the biggest issue in Richland Township is, “the public dispute over wind turbines”. Her opinion on the road conditions are quote “amazing and are not like dirt roads in other townships”. And she states that Richland Township in the future is “more populated”.

Mr. John Jordan

Unreachable Candidate

Mr. Phil Alloway

Unreachable Candidate

Harrison Township - Joel Spatz

Elections for Harrison Township will be held on November 5th 2013 and will be held at the following locations:

All voting is encouraged. Written below is a list of candidates and their positions and personal information.

Miles Pickering

Unreachable Challenger Candidate

Miles Pickering has lived in the Harrison Township area for 52 years and is currently running for office in the 2013 district trustee election.

David Jackson

David Jackson has lived in Harrison Township for 38 years and has worked as a trustee for 8 years. Mr. Jackson was active in FFA, learning how to run meetings and solve problems. Mr. Jackson says he is running for reelection this year because he “Understands the issues in the township, and feels he can deal with the budget cuts in a favorable manner.” Mr. Jackson’s goals are to make sure all roads are safe for travel, and being available 24/7 for any unexpected issues that may occur. Mr. Jackson attends all monthly meetings, as well as county trainings to keep us prepared. He also attends the annual state townships convention to learn about new procedures and zoning laws.

Joseph Brenner

Unreachable Challenger Candidate

Darin Collins

Unreachable Challenger Candidate

Belle Center Council - Tesia Deardurff

On November 5th polls will be held at the Belle Center Bingo Hall. It would be greatly appreciated for all eligible voters to attend and vote for their desired candidate. The following candidates have all been contacted by phone.

Sarah Carnes

Mrs. Carnes is a member of Belle Center who would like to give back to her community. She states, “I am running to help the lower income and retired citizens in our community.” Mrs. Carnes wants to help the retired and lower income citizens have a say in the running of the village of Belle Center. Mrs. Carnes is a non-incumbent candidate.

Dione Campbell

Dione Campbell has been a citizen of Belle Center for nearly 41 years. After being on the council for 21 years she wants to help the village progress. At the moment Mrs. Campbell is retired, in which she states “will give me an advantage to help running the village because I am always available.” A need at the moment in Belle Center that Mrs. Campbell believes is most prominent is the water tower issue.

Lynn Dysert

Lynn Dysert has been a resident of Belle Center for 6 years. Running for her first time, Ms. Dysert hopes to bring a positive outlook and wants to help make Belle Center become a more bustling town. As a self-employed nurse Ms. Dysert believes this can give her an advantage as to help run the town because she is available at most times. “The most prominent issue in the village at the moment is the water tower and we need to put money into it in order to sustain it,” states Ms. Dysert on her opinion about upcoming issues.